Here's the scoop on what's involved in a developing a solid visual trigger, why it works, and how to make it happen for your own lesson material.

Visual Memory Triggers:

These visuals can be images that contain or represent an analogy that helps the student understand.

They can also be graphics that blend text and pictures that stick in the students’ brains. It’s a perfect way to build a concept so that it really lasts in the long-term memory.

Because of Dual Coding Theory, these special graphics that combine text and images will convert more easily into long-term memory instead of being stored separately in short-term memory (see more about those "dual coding" brain connections here.)

Read more below to learn how to create and organize visual notes in a way that is specifically tailored to incorporate visual triggers. A student’s brain will process the text and the image in a way that builds connections and helps them remember the concept better than if reading or hearing it alone. Plus, the visual stimulation allows students to engage, get excited as well as retain the information that we are teaching in a lesson.

The benefits of this research-based approach include:

Long-term retention of the lesson material

Focus

Relaxation

Engagement in the content

New mental connections

Visual notes are ideal for introducing lessons that include categories or subtopics, steps or stages in a process, relationships between ideas, or layers of material with key terms. And there are a few different graphic structures you can use to accomplish this depending on your lesson. ​

How to Structure a Doodle Note Layout that Incorporates Visual Triggers

Start by thinking of a particular lesson that you'd like to try teaching with visual notes. Break down the main idea and content and see which of the following structures would be best for your own lesson material.

Here are some starter options to try on for size, depending on the type of lesson content.

Option 1: Organizing Relationships with Connections and Parts

Puzzles Pieces/Gears

Webs

Venn Diagrams

Clusters

These all work great for teaching concepts with parts that fit together. Use them to interconnect topics. Students can organize, sort and compare to focus on or explain the relationships between all of the factors.

Sometimes lessons are more basic and don’t really have room for a lot of creativity in the structure. That’s where stacking and layering works the best. They are far more visual than just lists. It works best for vocabulary-based lessons or topics that include long lists. Adding just a little bit of shape will help students remember key terms better.

This approach is perfect for when you’re talking about a subject where you want to animate meaning or share and connect ideas. You can use them to inspire and excite because students can have fun making their own stories or posters.

Option 4: Don’t forget Creative Custom Structures!

Sometimes it’s best to get creative and make your own custom structures from cups, gears, balloons or bubbles. Any containers that seem to work based on the lesson material can work. Some particular topics need more specific structures that you can create yourself it you cannot fit your content into a pre-existing template.

That’s one of the greatest things about visual and doodle notes. They are extremely flexible. Each classroom has a different dynamic and no one knows your classroom as well as you do. Being able to tailor the visual notes to your students is the best way for them to learn. There are really no “right ways” or “wrong ways” to teach with visual notes. When you use this strategy, you will see students that not only become focused or engaged in class, but also excited to learn.

It really is amazing how engaged students can become with these visual note tactics. They actually do love and take to this structure when it is used. As a teacher, it is so neat to see and hear the connections that stick in their brains.

​To see the memory benefits first hand is part of what teaching is all about. It's awesome when you have a student say, “Yeah! I remember when you said that as I was doing little dots around the world ‘midpoint’ and I wrote that formula right in the corner with my orange pen! That’s how I remembered it on the test!”

Samples

Here are a few samples of visual triggers within custom page layouts:

Students form text into the shapes of the visual triggers (graphics that stick in their minds) to remember the three reasons we write in math: to explain, support, and describe. (from the "writing in math" set)

Students remember that the transformation with the "F" in it (reFlection) is the one that we Flip! (from the isometric transformations set)

Students can keep the properties straight by remembering "commuting" with a bus, "associate" meaning partner, and "identity" as a mirror that results in itself! (from the properties of addition & multiplication set)

Students remember the connection between the ice cream cone, the drips, and the thermometer to understand how changes in temperature can convert matter from one state to another. (from the "States of Matter" page shared in the Doodle Note Club Sharing Zone)

Students remember that proportions operate like equivalent fractions and that for the equal sign to represent a true equality, the sides must be balanced on the scale, or equivalent. (from the proportions set)

Students remember the "Three Layer" reading strategy by recalling the 3 layer cake they built with the three steps for re-reading. First they read the problem for understanding, then details, then read to represent. (from the reading in math set).

This new acronym for PEMDAS helps students remember (through visuals) that multiplying and dividing happen in the same step, just as the penguin eats his meat and dairy in the same course, going from left to right! (from the Order of Operations set)

Younger students can visualize the branches of the government by recalling how each branch of the tree carries certain duties. (from the "Branches of U.S. Goverment page shared in the Doodle Note Club Sharing Zone)

Hopefully, these samples will inspire you as you start brainstorming about how to incorporate your own visuals into your doodle note strategy in your own classroom.

For templates, more layout tips, video training, and downloadable resources, join up at doodlenoteclub.com

To Read Next:

At some point in the school year you will have to deal with students that break the rules and challenge authority. And it can be difficult to know how to respond.

Approaching situations with an attitude of logic helps you stop and think: What type of response could turn the infraction into a teachable moment or into an outlet for resentment? Instead of “by the book” punishment, there is a better way.

​It’s based on the parenting philosophy of logical consequences for discipline. This is where responsive classroom management comes in (where every day lessons include academics as well as social and emotional impacts of individual actions).

This type of management or discipline is based around forming and maintaining a respectful relationship.

Principles Behind "Love & Logic"

In parenting, the idea is that we love our children enough to have strong, consistent expectations and enforce reasonable guidelines. A child who knows what is expected and has clear procedures in place is actually happier.

The logic part comes in when we allow kids to learn decision making, benefit from their mistakes in the long run, and experience natural repercussions of their actions. When the logical consequences are balanced with love and empathy, the child grows and is able to learn to make smart choices and live a happy and fulfilled life.

To teach students self-discipline in the same way, we can approach classroom management with a similar balance of love and logic. The following benefits will be a result:

Students who feel respected, or even loved, will be less motivated to intentionally cause discipline problems.

They feel more relaxed when they know that they have a good blend of both choices and reasonable limits.

But How Do Logical Consequences Apply in the Teen Years?

It’s no secret that parents, teachers, and even students are not fans of suspension as a form of punishment.

However, it still seems to be one of the most common forms of punishments that schools offer.

​For example, if a student is caught graffiting the bathroom, they are often suspended. Whether it’s in school or out of school suspension they are missing important class discussions, the heart of learning.

So, instead of kicking them out of their usual class routine and locking them in a detention room or even worse, sending them home, why not try something else? Instead, have the student either come in early or stay late to clean their graffiti from the bathrooms with the janitor. They not only have consequences for their actions, but they also learned that they are going to be in charge of cleaning up or fixing it. This effect is the natural and reasonable result of the behavior that the student chose to participate in.What’s great about logical consequences is that they can be applied in so many areas. They are perfect for the classroom, with your own children, or for school wide policies. The consequences don’t just punish, they teach. ​

Consequences:
● Intend to teach lessons
● Are logical and related
● Are proactive
● Promote responsibility
● Foster internal locus of control
● Work in the long run

Punishments:
● Intend to give discomfort
● Are unrelated and often personal
● Are reactive
● Can promote obedience, but sometimes also resentment
● Fosters external locus of control
● Works in the short-term

That’s why logical consequences are a far better way to deal with unacceptable behavior. Making them a proactive learning moment will stick with students far longer than punishment will.

Specific Examples:

3 Types of Logical Consequences

1. You Break It - You Fix It

Whether it was accidentally or intentionally, this deals with situations where something broke or a mess has been made. It assigns the student responsibility of righting the situation as best as they can.

For example: A student running in the hallway knocks into a student, breaking their project for next period. Instead of sending the student to the office for punishment, have the student help fix the project. Then have the student at fault explain to the teacher of that class that it was their fault for anything that may have not be fixable.

A student throws garbage instead of getting up to take it to the trash bin (or leaves scraps on the floor and walks out of the room when the period is over without cleaning up his/her area). Now, at the end of class, that student will have to stay for a minute and pick up any garbage on the floor in the room and get it all into the bin (or be on the recycling team for a week).

2. Loss of Privilege

This works great in the classroom to help dial in student’s behavior. Adolescents are pretty much hardwired to challenge the rules at some point in time, and in doing so they have to face a consequence of losing a privilege.

For example: Students that didn’t turn in their homework or complete the assignment will not get to participate in the fun activity or game that is planned. Instead, they have to spend that time to complete the work. Or when a student fools around too much in class, they have to sit by the teacher for the rest of the class (or week).

3. A Positive Time Out

Sometimes students can’t control themselves. They start to disrupt class with outbursts and other antics that hinder everyone’s ability to learn in the classroom. That’s when the student will need to “take a break” and recover self control. It is important that the students know this time-out is only to allow a chance to check their behavior before they spin out completely.

For example: A student won’t stop talking out of turn during class, they ignore instructions to be quiet and keep talking out of turn. Remove them from the immediate area and have them sit in a designated “time out spot” so that they can calm down before it escalates. This is exactly the type of student who does not want to miss out on the community and discussion! They will quickly learn to follow the guidelines for participation so that they do not miss out again.
​TIP: Whenever I prep a fun review game or activity, I also copy a few worksheet versions of the same type of practice. This makes it so easy to keep the class under control during something fun. They know I already have a more “boring” option ready for them, and a student who cannot handle the fun game with self-control will be immediately handed the worksheet option and pulled from the class activity to go sit in the hall with a clipboard to do the quiet worksheet with the same practice. They are motivated to stick to my expectations for behavior because they do not want the consequence of missing the fun.

As you can see, the main point of logical consequences is conveying a lesson and not just doling out punishment. Adolescents not only have a chance to see the error in their behavior, but they see how to fix it, see how it affects them and others, and also a chance to learn and improve their actions in the future.

The key is to keep it streamlined, simple, and straightforward. Stay consistent, and use a calm voice to explain that now this is the consequence.

That’s just how it works. Leave no room for argument or negotiation.

Try phrases like:
-Clearly, you cannot handle this right now, so as a result, ,you'll need to grab that sheet from the corner of my desk and take it over to…
-You will need to show me that you have the self-control to participate in an activity like this next time. (afterward / at the end of the class period)
-Since you made the choice to ___, now you will have to _____.
- Now that you've caused __(problem)__, you'll need to fix it by __(natural consequence)__.

More on Management to Read Next:

Managing a classroom for middle & high school students can be a little challenging.

You only have so much time to get their heads out of the halls and into the classroom for the lesson you have planned. Not to mention taking attendance, plus keeping track of grades, classwork & tests.

You don’t want to waste time fumbling for worksheets, checking the roster or trying to find someone’s make-up assignments.

Here are my favorite classroom management tips and tricks that have worked for me to maximize the time and keep things running smoothly.

Setting Up the Classroom Workflow

When setting up your gradebook, instead of starting student names on the first line, leave a few rows blank so that you have space under the assignment heading for things like possible number of points, date, type of assignment, etc.

Learn names in those first few days by having a seating chart on your podium/desk always in view. Call on students in order going through the rows multiple times the first few days. Ask them to supply their homework answers and then use their names for any discipline reminders, etc. They will be very surprised that you know their name on the first day and will quickly realize they cannot get away with anything, especially if they are not aware that you have the seating chart in front of you. I’ve always been able to learn all the names (sometimes 150+) in just three days this way!

When creating math worksheets, quizzes, tests, and other materials, use tables (visible or borderless) to keep pieces of problems where you want them. This is much easier than using columns and keeps everything numbered correctly with diagrams, equations, and figures in place and provides spaces for answers.

To save paper, any time you are doing a single sided worksheet, cut it between two rows of problems and make double sided half sheets.

​

Keep your seating chart available every day, even once you know names. Use it to quickly identify absent students. Tuck notes to yourself, papers to hand back, and messages to students in front of the chart for that class period so as you flip to the next seating chart to begin class, you see all your reminders and papers to hand back for that period.

Start each class period with a warm-up. It can be a critical thinking problem, review questions, or even a quick quiz. Get students in the habit of starting right away when they enter. During this time, you can complete attendance and check homework.

Tips for Grading

Grade homework using a four point rubric. Take away one point if the work is late, a point or two if it is incomplete, and a point if students did not show work.

Give students a notebook grade. You can just do a quick quarterly check to make sure they have taken notes during each lesson. Instead of collecting the notebooks, just walk around to each desk and check quarterly while students are taking a test. (I have them leave the notebooks closed up under the desk while testing so I can grab it as I come around, flip through for a minute, give the grade, and put it back).

​

In addition to a score in the gradebook, add tiny footnotes next to the number. You can use things like “L” for late, “I” for incomplete, “R” for when a student is supposed to redo an assignment, “M” for missing, and any other helpful reminders. Some computerized gradebooks allow footnotes as well. If your gradebook has plenty of room, you can even double space the names for a full row for these coded notes.

Re-Take and Test Corrections

Be willing to allow students to redo work so they are motivated to go back and get the practice they need. If they originally earned 2 out of 4 points because they only did half of the homework and did not show their work, they can redo it to earn a 3 out of 4 (not a perfect score, because by that point it is like a “late” 3 out of 4)

​

Offer optional test corrections. This motivates students to go back and acquire the understanding they were still missing during an assessment instead of giving up and moving on. Give them one week to do this and turn it in after receiving their graded test. They may get help if needed, but must write in complete sentences what they did wrong the first time and explain the problem to show that they understand the concept now. They must also redo all work. Offer half credit back for each test question that is redone and explained in this format. This method puts accountability on the students.

Absent Students & Make-Up Work

Set up trays in the back of the room for each class to place late and make-up work instead of handing it to you.

When a student is absent, draw a box around (or highlight) the corresponding day for their name in the gradebook. You can still go back and put points inside the box, but this easily helps you identify why the grade is not there yet and which students were absent which days.

When a student is absent for a test or quiz, immediately write their name on their test and put it on a clipboard (immediately after distributing tests to present students). Having them ready to go on the podium or chalk ledge serves as a reminder to you to have them take the test, and when the student returns, the test is ready to be taken to the hall to be made up without having to move desks in and out unless they prefer a desk (most kids love to just sit on the floor in a carpeted hallway to relax and take their test).

When distributing worksheets, grab one for each absent student. Write their name on it so everything is ready to just hand to them when they return – no hunting for blank worksheets from each day.

​While extra planning may seem like an overkill at first, it will actually save you time and stress later on. Your classroom should run like a well oiled machine, smoothly and efficiently. Hopefully, these tips help you with that! Do you have any tips or tricks that work for you? Make sure to share them with us, we’d love to hear them!

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